One And Done
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Lucy makes a request for a sibling. Ella and Henry seriously discuss it.


** queen-of-the-merry-men prompted Lucy requesting a sibling after the realms are united, leading to a discussion on Ella & Henry's end.**

**Trigger warning: mentions of previous miscarriages.**

Lucy didn't ask for much when it came to her parents. She was a very spoiled little girl, in terms of grandparents and great-grandparents, as well as her extended family. Her own parents, however, she didn't tend to ask them for very much. Especially as she got older, her requests became less about material possessions and more about doing stuff as a family. That didn't change when the curse broke and they had two and a half, lost years to make up for.

That was why it was very surprising when she sat Ella and Henry down not long after Regina's coronation and said, "I have a request."

Ella and Henry exchanged an amused smile. "Oh?" Henry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Breaking the curse was very taxing, especially because you two were so stubborn and didn't believe me. If I had to do it again…"

"Luce," Henry put his hand on top of hers. "You won't have to."

Ella could tell it was taking all her daughter had to not roll her eyes at her father. "Dad, I appreciate that, but it could happen. Which is why I was hoping for a little help."

"Help?" Ella asked, with a head tilt.

"Yes." Lucy put down a piece of paper. "This is a formal, written request, asking for a sibling."

Henry and Ella's mouths dropped open. They looked from the paper, back up to Lucy and then at each other. The last time their daughter had asked for a sibling, she had been 3.

"Before you say it, I don't just want a brother or sister-or both," Lucy said, hopefully. "Just to break a curse. I think it'd be beneficial. I've loved being an only child, but I really think getting to have another sibling would help our family grow. You always say we have so much love to give, why not. I don't even care if we adopted it or not, like Abuela did with you, Dad."

The two of them were still in shock, not saying anything. Lucy's smile hadn't left her face the entire time and it didn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

"I'll let you two discuss this."

With that, she walked out of the room, heading to her room. Henry gently picked up the paper, scanning the paper, which basically stated what Lucy had just said, clearly she had it memorized.

"Well, clearly she's thought this out," Ella mused.

"A lot more than we have," Henry mumbled, dropping the paper from his fingers and falling back onto the couch.

"You really haven't thought about more kids?"

"I mean, when Lucy was younger." Henry shrugged. "But I also knew that even with Drizella as a statue, her threat could be real. Having another kid seemed dangerous, especially given the two miscarriages you had."

Ella frowned, her hand going over her stomach. They hadn't even trying to get pregnant, but they had experienced two losses prior to the curse when Lucy was too young to even be aware that her mother was expecting. "Yeah, I wasn't even sure if I could try again."

"Raising Lucy was amazing and of course I would want to have more kids, but El…"

"Trust me." Ella swallowed, hard. "I don't know if I could even risk going through that again."

Henry put his hand over her own, lacing his fingers through them. He knew how traumatic those two had been for her. "Then we won't. We're a happy family the way we are."

"But I do want more kids, Henry," Ella said, tears prickling her eyes. "I never saw ourselves just having one child and being done with it. You as well as anyone know that this isn't an end. Lucy herself said she didn't care if we had a baby or if we adopted."

A small smile went across his face. "You'd be willing to adopt?"

"I want to look into it. Your grandparents donated their castle so it'd be a group home. It's worth seeing if the process is right for us as a family. After everything I went through, I want to try to give a child a home."

Henry nodded. "My biological mother never got adopted, and while her not being so lead to the curse being broke…I know it did a number on her. And me being adopted was the best thing that ever happened to me." He put his free hand on her cheek. "It lead me to you."

Ella grinned, in spite of her tears. "So…adoption. Maybe."

"Maybe, baby."


End file.
